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Two Very Different Pinot Noirs from Ayda Bağları

 

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Recently I wrote a post about (some of) the best Turkish Pinot Noirs. I left out two wines on purpose, the Ayda Bağları Pinot Noir and Rosé. These two deserved to be tackled separately.

Ayda Bağları 

After a few years of hobby winemaking, Ayda Kargılı Kalelioğlu and her husband Uğur Kalelioğlu decided to go commercial. Ayda, a dentist by training, had been making wine with the trial and error method. But when the pair decided to ramp up their operations, she pursued an oenology certification in France which she received in 2008.

Now, Ayda and Uğur are proud to be a boutique winery. Their capacity is roughly 14,400 bottles a year. The workforce at the winery consists of them and only them so they have no interest in expanding. Rather by keeping operations and output small enough that they can control it themselves they are assured of maintaining quality.

The winery, not part of but adjacent to the Urla Bağ Yolu, sits at the top of the mountains around Urla. If you can navigate the terrifying drive, you really deserve a drink. You’ll need the courage to get back down. Little personal experience tip: just ride your break all the way down, no need to use the accelerator. 

Ayda Bağları VinAida Pinot Noir, 2018

The grapes for both wines hail from a single vineyard. Likely one of the plots that race down the hill from the winery’s mountain top location. One of the things that Ayda Bağları thinks sets them apart from other wineries is its use of barrels for ageing and fermentation. Following that pattern, the VinAida Pinot Noir fermented in French oak barrels before ageing in them an additional 12 months.

Dark and mysterious in the glass, swirling with wafts of black cherry, licorice, a flurry of dried leaves, dry forest floor, and an undertone of freshly harvested mushrooms (dirt and all!). The palate delivered dusty tannins and a round, silky mouthfeel. A hint of red fruits and roasted tomato lurked under the earthiness that came through from the nose. Surprisingly big for such a low amount of alcohol (12.5% abv).

Ayda Bağları VinAida Rosé, 2020

I first tried this in November at the Sommelier’s Selection event in Istanbul. Almost immediately I ran out to find my very own bottle. We all know I don’t love oak and I don’t love pink wine. But, based on this, I love oaked pink wine!

Not only barrel fermented but also aged four months in small oak barrels, the wine poured a deep, peony pink.

The wine smelled so much like that point between summer and autumn when it’s chilly and the leaves are turning but the summer flowers stubbornly cling to their stems. Smoky like burning leaves, hay, tomato leaf, roasted tomato, and exotic fruit decorated with dried rose petals.

Round, full-bodied, with significantly higher alcohol than the red (14% abv) and nice acidity for the balance. Less smoky and oaky on the palate with the hay and roses coming through to join red berries and loquat.

It’s really difficult to completely describe this wine. The experience was as tactile as it was flavorful. It must be drunk to be understood!!

I don’t remember what I ate with this but there’s a note that it paired really well with cinnamon-spiced whatever I had!